Longest five hours of my life

It’s been one year, but everything remains very vivid.

It was the afternoon of Dec. 16, 2021, when the atmosphere turned gloomy—dark clouds started to devour the light, winds started to rumble, and rain started to pour torrentially. People flocked to the nearest evacuation center, bringing with them their most valued belongings just before Supertyphoon “Odette” made its landfall. Fear and anxiety were vividly painted on everyone’s faces. What seemed to be on everyone’s mind was how this frightening cataclysm was about to rampage the entire archipelago.

But in my house, everything seemed normal. I was just watching television for the hourly status report of the typhoon while gulping hot, aromatic coffee. On the other hand, my Titas were busy packing things and putting fenders on the most vulnerable part of our 90-year-old ancestral house. Some of my cousins were still in bed, relishing the wind that was perfect for procrastination. We have all decided to stay home amidst the menace of this approaching apocalypse.

It was around 1 p.m. when the wind strengthened. I was starting to feel uneasy hearing the scary sounds outside. I told my Titas and Lola to stay calm as we stayed together in our sala. However, my curiosity over what was happening outside got the better of me and brought me on my feet to our window. I peeped through a small crack in our jalousie to check the scene outside. What was unleashed to my naked eye filled me with awe, for indeed it was a horrifying sight.

The wind was blowing from east to west, the deafening sound of needle-like rain was poking on our and our neighbors’ roofs, the trees were swaying in every direction, the surroundings have become misty, and the sea, five-meters away from our house, has started to spew monstrous waves. Our once paradisiacal place has been thrown into limbo.

I was about to rest when, all of a sudden, we heard a bizarre sound echoing from the ground. In just a blink of an eye, we saw how our colossal, century-old mango tree was uprooted in one blow. We were all flabbergasted and alarmed by the strength of this devastating weather disturbance.

An hour later, the rain and wind became more violent. I could hear the wind whistling and our house withstanding the force outside, its foundations reeling. I saw everyone was in tears as fear started to take over us. I was really worried about our safety inside our old, dilapidated house, and all I could do was pray—this somehow helped me calm down.

Outside, winds continued to ravage, and I saw how our window was shattered into pieces. The opening from that broken window gave me a glimpse of the horrible scene outside. I saw how our neighbor’s roof was practically ripped off by the wind. Corrugated sheets were being blown away just like sheets of paper, while some houses were being crumpled in the storm. All of a sudden, a raucous sound jolted us all—it was our roof! The wind had swept away the top of our house. It was then we all saw, literally, the complete magnitude of this calamity.

What was happening outside was a real nightmare that no one ever imagined. The storm continued to rage and had become even more violent. Everything became hazy—nothing could be seen outside due to zero visibility. While the disaster continued to wreak havoc on our hometown, we huddled inside our small room and covered ourselves with blankets to cocoon us from Odette’s frightening claws. We patiently waited inside while we prayed for our safety.

It was around six in the evening when the unnerving wailing of the ferocious winds and rains finally calmed down. The silence and darkness outside was just a facet of the aftermath of this catastrophe as if it never happened. When we finally went outside to have a look, what we saw were shocking images. Debris was everywhere, corrugated sheets hung from branches, trunks of trees were scattered all over. All the horrors brought by Odette.

It was truly the longest five hours of my life—five hours when my family and I were on the brink of being swept away, or worse, on the brink of death.

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Tokuo Torres Ueda Jr., 29, is a secondary school teacher from Placer National High School, Surigao del Norte.